1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle seat having an air-conditioning function.
2. Description of Related Art
In a vehicle seat, the back surface of a seat pad of a seat cushion (or a seat back) is elastically supported by a support member. Also, a vehicle seat is known in which a seat cushion (or a seat back) is provided with an air-conditioning function (an air blowing function) in order to improve sitting comfort. With this air-conditioning apparatus, an air duct is provided in a back surface of the seat pad, and air for air-conditioning that is supplied from the air-conditioning apparatus is blown out from the front surface of the seat pad through the air duct. Also, in order to form the air duct in the back surface of the seat pad, an air groove is formed in the back surface of the seat pad and an open portion (i.e., a back surface side open portion) of the air groove is closed off by affixing a plate member to the back surface of the seat pad, as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-235676 (JP 2003-235676 A), for example.
However, when the plate member is affixed to the back surface of the seat pad, the number of component parts and the man-hours for assembly increase by an amount related to the plate member. As a result, the cost increases. Moreover, the sitting comfort may be adversely affected due to the thickness and hardness of the plate member.